Gary U.S. Bonds
(born Gary Anderson
, June 6, 1939, Jacksonville, Florida [1]) is an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer. He is also a prolific songwriter.
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GARY U.S. BONDS TICKETS
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Career
Born in Jacksonville, Bonds was living in
Norfolk,
Virginia in the 1950s when he began singing publicly in
church, and with a group called The Turks.
He joined
record producer Frank Guida's small Legrand Records
label, and Guida changed Anderson's name to "U.S. Bonds" in hope that it would be confused with a
public service announcement advertising the sale of
government bonds and thus get more
airplay. His first album (
Dance till Quarter to Three
) was released under the name U.S. Bonds, but people mistook it for the name of a group, so his second album (
Twist-Up Calypso
) was released under the name Gary (U.S.) Bonds, to avoid the confusion.
Bonds's first
hit was the
song "New Orleans" (reached #6), which was followed by "Not Me", a flop for Bonds but later a hit for
The Orlons, and then by his only number one hit, "
Quarter to Three" in June 1961. "Quarter to Three" sold one million
records, gaining a
gold disc.
Subsequent hits, under his modified name, included "School Is Out" (#5), "Dear Lady Twist" (#9), "School Is In" (#28) and "Twist, Twist, Señora" (#10) in the early 1960s. In a 1963 tour of
Europe, he headlined above
The Beatles. His hits often featured
solos by the
saxophonist Gene Barge.
"Quarter to Three" appears on
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.
In the early 1980s, Bonds had a career resurgence, working off collaborations with
Bruce Springsteen,
Steven Van Zandt, and the
E Street Band. Later hits included "This Little Girl" (his comeback hit in 1981, which reached #11 on the pop chart and #5 on the mainstream rock chart), "Jolé Blon" and "Out of Work". Bonds continues to release
albums sporadically, and today is a mainstay of the nostalgia concert circuit.
While Bonds is mostly known for achievements within rhythm and blues and rock and roll, he often transcends these genres, e.g. his song "
She's All I Got", co-written by
Jerry Williams, Jr. (better known as Swamp Dogg), was nominated for the
Country Music Association's "Song of the Year" in 1972 when it was a big hit for
Johnny Paycheck. He is also an honoree of the
Rhythm & Blues Foundation. Bonds is an accomplished golfer and often plays celebrity
PGA Tour events.
He was inducted into the
Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006.
Billboard's Top 100
- "New Orleans" #6, 1960*
- "Quarter To Three" #1, 1961*
- "School Is Out" #5, 1961*
- "School Is In" #28, 1961*
- "Dear Lady Twist" #9, 1961*
- "Twist Twist Señora" #10, 1962*
- "Seven Day Weekend" #27, 1962*
- "Copy Cat" #92, 1962*
- "This Little Girl" #11,1981
- "Jole Blon" #65,1981
- "Out of Work" #21,1982
:
* Produced by Frank Guida.
References
- The Book of Golden Discs